Critical Thinking and Science, Technology, Society and Environment orientations in Science classes: what social issues emerge from the voices of students in the early years of elementary school?

Abstract

The intense changes and issues that surround current society have made it imperative to promote a critical and emancipatory education that addresses the implications and interrelationships between Science, Technology, Society and the Environment, while simultaneously demanding Critical Thinking (CT) skills from the earliest years of schooling. Given the importance of guiding teaching based on subjects that interest students and their reality, this study aimed to explore which issues emerge from the discourse of students in a 4th grade elementary school class at a public school located in the state of Paraná, Brazil. A semi-structured interview was conducted involving 18 students. In the analysis of the interviews, the issue of waste was the most frequent problem: the students recognized problematic situations in their reality, as well as the consequences and possibilities for reducing them or proposing ways of resolving the situations mentioned. The interview enabled the students to express themselves and reflect on what bothers them, as well as their perceptions of the reality of the place where they live. The instrument is powerful for thinking about how to act in different situations that involve them, in other words, as an enabler of CT and the recognition of socio-environmental challenges.